Yesterday afternoon a very treasured friend of mine passed away and went to heaven. Dennis Diamond Kelley came into my life in late 2008. I was at the time attending Benny Hinn’s school of signs and wonders and I was pressing in hard to find out God’s will before I die and pressing Hard that I could fulfill the ministry I believe God called me to that had been thwarted, stunted, stopped and hindered for as long as I could remember. “Let me win souls” was my heart cry day after day. study to be approved? Oh yes I had and I did! One day I actually mustered all my faith to believe Benny Hinn would talk to me personally and called his line fully expecting HIM to answer the phone. I think I sent him a letter too which went unanswered. Finally I said Father (through tears) I’ve been robbed I’ve tried to know my pastors and get close to church members and it’s been one kick in the head after the other “SEND ME AN APOSTLE” “SEND ME A PROPHET” I trust you to do it JUST FOR ME! I still remember that day I know when I am taking all the pent up tears, anger, frustration pain and funneling it all toward heaven and I can feel when It goes out of me and pours all Over God’s Holy alter. this was one of those times.

Very soon after this person on yahoo answers (religion and spirituality) sent me a message asking if I needed help He told he was a minister of the Lord and if I would listen and pay attention he would teach me how to hear from God how to receive from God and it would be beyond my wildest expectations. During the next 5-6 years We prayed and I studied almost daily and sometimes for hours at a time. I learned to soak to chew to receive to expect and as he promised, my relationship with God (and with others) was enriched and began to grow. Diamond prayed over every person I ever asked him to and with fervor. Rejection didn’t phase him, neglect didn’t seem to bother him and he didn’t need anyone to reciprocate either. “I’m a big boy” he said “another son.” He knew who he was in Christ; warrior Priest, “beloved” and God’s Diamond (a name the Lord gave to him years ago). He was a tree farmer and a gardener and he knew things that just blew my mind yet it wasn’t lofty! He could see the Holy Spirit in every day things all the time and signs and wonders DID follow him. He was all for anything that brought people closer to Christ and our ongoing growth and Salvation process with God the Father and Jesus Christ was his passion. He hated religion and he hated the devil but he feared no evil. I could say a lot more but he always signed his letters to me like this “your friend, brother and minister of the Lord, “Diamond” “as Christ is formed in you” he would say.

I have no idea why God sent me such a precious and marvelous friend He called me “his timothy” and I never understood what it meant exactly. all I know is I had my own personal preacher God sent to me worth more than all the silver and gold in the whole wide world and he is gone now and I don’t understand why but ….in his honor I have to carry on.  I know he looked forward to heaven he loved Jesus so much and if someone gave him two dollars he would lift it up and Praise God for it every time. Diamond Thank you for being my friend. I pray I am found worthy of the things you taught me and pray with all my heart the seeds you sowed into my life produce a harvest that will stagger the minds of those who doubted. amen. You can’t spend that much time with someone even by email who is so full of the Holy Spirit and so in Love with God and not be transformed can you? ….no!

If I had a nickel for every religious activity I’ve been asked to do, I would be a very rich woman. Some of them I have done, but I’m not going to say I am happy I that I did it either. Religious activities leave me feeling dead inside and unfulfilled. In the deepest places of my heart nobody knows about; something in me cries, “Is this really it? Is this all there is?” Because the spirit of religion is intimidating, it will always want to squelch your desire to reach out and say just that; “Is this all there is?” 

a Prayer for Growing
Father growing in you can be truly hard sometimes as you well know. It’s even harder when someone we love chooses not to grow and we are stuck with them driving us bonkers sometimes! You just know Father how hard it can be to have adult children running around committing all acts of chaos!

Father we really want to find the balance between loving and taking authority between being nice (and kind) and setting those boundaries we need to set. We always wonder if we are right or wrong whenever our hearts are right before you and we just want to do the right things so very badly.
Other times Father we get so tired of doing the right thing we want to run away and give up because we are just so tired of it all. Thank you that we can talk to like a real person because you are a real person. When we receive you into our lives you take on the whole package of who we are. We know we need renovation but you don’t just knock us down, flatten us and start all over again.

You know our frame and remember that we are dust. You know what we need to do but you are patient towards us and lead us in what we need to do one step at a time. by learning of your patience and love toward us we learn to have patience with others. Help us to be like you and see like you and live the way you would like us to live. in Jesus’ name we pray. amen

Not running but overcoming: by Laura Grace

Three months ago I got hired for a job I didn’t want that I wasn’t seeking. My husband told me about it one day and I said NO but we needed the money so I wound up taking the job.

This mission of Grace so far this year has been SO Much different than I thought it would be when I started out. all these plans to travel everywhere in my little pink car. I never dreamed I’d be pounding thousands of miles on it going to an apartment bui…lding every day nobody wanted to work at. Today this tenant told me I’m the 7th manager and it was built in 2011.

It’s a hard place to work, harder then the last apartment manager job I had. I was so scared of it and I wanted to RUN the first few weeks there every day I wanted to run. I cried and ranted on the way home and said “I can’t do this” …..here I am tomorrow marks 3 months since I got hired there.

The office is all spiffed up and orderly. the boss wants to keep me and says how impressed she is with me. Most of the tenants love me. I have mastered about 90% of the job now. I didn’t go on more than a handful of book signings but I am amazed at what God has helped me overcome. fears, terror, anger, all kinds of things. Injustices that made me want to dish out a piece of my mind and I showed love instead.

My patience has been stretched so thin at times I’ve thought I would go to pieces. Anyway I told the boss I’ll stay until she gets someone trained. It’s still too far to drive every day all winter long it’s just not practical. but ….I AM NOT RUNNING

I am overcoming. Grace to Grow-It’s worth more than we think!

Transparent and in the Light: Rocking the boat Grace to the Rescue by Laura Grace​

-So the problem isn’t that I didn’t give my heart to Jesus, or that I didn’t study and pray recently, nor that I am just rebellious or falling away or “washed up.” What happened is worry took ahold of my heart when I was reading an email from a friend of mine.

There’s a story about Jesus’s friend in the bible, their brother Lazarus died and she said “Lord if you’d been here he wouldn’t have died!” She was upset with him! He patiently let her know he was going to do a new thing and went and raised Lazarus from the dead.

Nobody died yesterday but I was upset and rocking the boat Because I was worried and a bit afraid of what God was going to seemingly “allow next” in my life and the lives of my family and loved ones. Ever feel that way? Just be honest! Father I trust you but really what ARE You going to ALLOW NEXT? Maybe we don’t have a brother named Lazarus but we still wonder sometimes;

“Father what is going on here? Why did you not intervene? I was having faith Father for “THIS” thing not to happen and now IT DID HAPPEN anyway!” How can I trust you if you won’t answer my prayers? (That’s basically what she was saying, as she had sent word to Jesus Lazarus was sick and needed help and he didn’t come “on time” according to her timetable!). So we add to the problem by rocking the boat and getting upset and trying to decide just what to think about this what I call “unacceptable situation” whatever it may be. I like to think I’d switch from faith to seeking wisdom right away friends but it doesn’t always happen that way.

SO if you got upset, rocked the boat, worried a little too much and didn’t feel very Christ like yesterday don’t despair! It happens to the best of us, yes it does. Even us who have been serving God a very long time. If we are honest, there are days we just freak out a little bit. With Love and blessings,

Laura Grace